Samsung announced on Wednesday that it has now shipped more than 5 million flagship Galaxy S II smartphones in just 85 days. The phone became Samsung’s fastest selling smartphone when it hit the 3 million-unit milestone in just 55 days. Samsung now reportedly maintains a 56% share of the mobile phone market in South Korea. The phone maker has yet to launch the device in the United States, but our recent exclusive leak of AT&T’s Galaxy S II handset suggests that official carrier announcements could be right around the corner. More →

Following the “Antennagate” scandal that cost Apple zero sales last year, a new “Locationgate” scandal took the media by storm earlier this year that ultimately cost Apple zero sales. It was discovered in late April that the iPhone and 3G-equipped iPads were secretly tracking and storing users’ locations. Apple issued a statement seven days later, claiming the culprit was a bug that would be addressed as soon as possible. Apple also said that it does not track its users or their locations. Some people tend to take things more personally than others — or perhaps they’re out for a quick buck — so lawsuits were inevitable. Thus far, just one single complaint related to Locationgate has resulted in a payout from Apple, and it was awarded to South Korean man Kim Hyung-suk this past May, Reuters reports. What was the damage? 1 million won, which translates to a whopping $945. Kim, a lawyer, said Apple sent the payment last month. More →

Apple on Friday filed a new patent infringement lawsuit in South Korea alleging that multiple Samsung products are infringing its patents. “It is no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging,” an Apple spokesperson said regarding case. The move is the latest in an ongoing legal battle in which each company claims the other is making unlawful use of protected IP. Apple struck first back in April when the Cupertino-based technology giant sued Samsung, claim it copied “Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style in these infringing products.” Samsung responded just one week later by filing countersuits in South Korea, Japan and Germany, and then in the U.S. as well. Both companies are thought to have grounds for legal action, but their close relationship stands to take a hit as a result of the feud; Apple is currently Samsung’s largest buyer of LCD components. More →

Sprint’s flagship EVO 3D hasn’t even made its way out of the womb yet and its successor is already official. HTC on Thursday unveiled the EVO 4G + in South Korea — odd, since “EVO” is a Sprint brand. The new superphone is essentially a Sensation in EVO’s clothing, and it features a 4.3-inch display, an 8-megapixel camera, HTC’s latest Sense UI and, of course, 4G WiBRO connectivity for the South Korean market. Expect that BRO to be MAX’d when the 4G + makes its way to U.S. shores, which might not be for a while unless Sprint doesn’t mind the EVO 3D sharing the spotlight with a 3D-less device. Of course the massively popular EVO 4G is getting a little gray up top these day, so a next-generation 4G + model would be more than welcome for those not interested in a third dimension on their smartphones. Hit the break for a third-party video of the EVO 4G + in action. More →

Google on Wednesday confirmed that a hacker from China was able to break into hundreds of Gmail accounts. The company detected the breach and notified victims of the attack, as well as relevant government authorities. Several high-profile accounts were hacked according to the Associated Press, including senior U.S. government personnel, Chinese political activists and government officials from South Korea. The actual hack was a phishing scheme that prompted users to enter their user names and passwords on a web page. “It’s important to stress that our internal systems have not been affected—these account hijackings were not the result of a security problem with Gmail itself,” Google said on its official Gmail blog. More →

Today’s one of those days when we wish we lived in South Korea. Samsung’s hot new Galaxy S II — which packs a dual-core Orion CPU, an 8 megapixel camera, a 4.27-inch Super AMOLED Plus touchscreen, and more — hits the South Korean market on all three of the country’s wireless carriers. Samsung shipped more than 14 million of the first generation Galaxy S devices, and it hopes to sell at least 10 million Galaxy S II handsets as the device makes its debut in 120 countries and on 140 different carriers in the coming months. “We expect sales to be as good as the Galaxy S,” Shin Jong-Kyun, president of Samsung Mobile, told AFP. Unfortunately there’s no word if or when the Galaxy S II will hit the United States, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it pop up given that the first generation was offered by each of the big-four carriers. More →

It didn’t take a crystal ball to see this move coming — Samsung on Friday filed multiple patent infringement suits against Apple. Just four days following Apple’s filing of a lawsuit alleging Samsung smartphones like the Galaxy S “copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style,” Samsung has filed three separate suits alleging infringement of a total of ten patents. The suits were filed in Seoul Central District Court, Korea; Tokyo, Japan; and in Manheim, Germany. In a statement, Samsung said it is “responding actively to the legal action taken against us in order to protect our intellectual property and to ensure our continued innovation and growth in the mobile communications business.” Ebb and flow… yin and yang… suits and countersuits. More →

Reuters is reporting that search giant Google had an office in Seoul, South Korea raided by police earlier today. The Korean National Police Agency said they “have been investigating Google Korea LLC on suspicion of unauthorized collection and storage of data on unspecified Internet users from Wi-Fi networks.” Google has been collecting data in South Korea since late last year in preparation for the launch of the Street View service. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, as well as other European governments, are also looking into allegations that Google illegally collected and stored information from Wi-Fi networks while conducting its Street View surveys. Google has yet to comment on the South Korean raid. More →

Why do we love South Korea? Because it has Seoul, of course. The YONHAP News Agency is reporting that the Samsung Galaxy S has sold over 300,000 units, in just 19 days, on South Korea’s largest wireless carrier; SK Telecom. Samsung declined to comment on the worldwide sales figures of the Galaxy S, which is also out in parts of Europe and Asia. However, last month Samsung President Shin Jong-kyun said his company expected sales of the Gally S to top 10 million units. How many of you are planning on picking up the Galaxy S in one of its many flavors?

While we’re busy sitting here trying to figure out how this new phone is supposed to be pronounced, South Koreans are rejoicing that this Android device has become official there. We’ve all seen this handset before as the Motorola XT701 for China, but now we know that Korea will have it through SK Telekom. The device is running Android 2.0 and supports Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps and Google Talk. Basically, anything and everything Google will be delivered on this handset for the full Android experience. Shutterbugs and weekend videographers will be happy to know the MOTOROI packs an 8 megapixel sensor camera with Xenon flash, and has a 720p HD camcorder. Add to that support for up to 32GB of storage, a 3.7″ WVGA screen, HDMI capabilities, TV out and built in radio and it looks like Korea’s first Android device is a formidable one. More →

After years of wrangling with privacy concerns over the iPhone’s location-based services, the Apple iPhone is now finally available in South Korea. Hundreds of people, hoping to be the first on their block to rock the iPhone, lined up overnight outside Olympic stadium in Seoul. Those not willing to brave the elements turned to pre-orders, with nearly 65,000 customers reserving an iPhone in the weeks leading up to the launch. The iPhone is being sold by #2 cellular provider KT Corp and has been priced competitively with a 32GB iPhone 3GS retailing for 396,000 won ($338USD) with a monthly plan of 45,000 won ($38 USD) and 264,000 won ($225 USD) with a monthly fee of 65,000 won ($55 USD). Samsung and LG, two homegrown manufacturers that currently dominate the South Korean market, are supposedly already feeling the pressure as they’ve started to lower handset prices across the board in South Korea. More →